Author Topic: One Card to Rule Them All?  (Read 13274 times)

LaughingKnave

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One Card to Rule Them All?
« on: August 05, 2015, 10:26:41 AM »
Hello there,

As a recent convert I still have a lot to learn. I've only ever had one credit card, a USAA Mastercard with 7.75% APR and USAA's Cash Rewards program.  Thing is, I've barely use the card, instead opting to use my debit card for most purchases. I realize now that this might not be the best approach.

Assuming, of course, that I absolutely will not be carrying a balance on the card--only using it for purchases and paying it off every month--what would be the best single card to have? I'm not interested in churning, or having multiple cards, at all.

JustGettingStarted1980

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2015, 10:33:57 AM »
Go to NERD Wallet .com and check out the variety of cards. The website is fairly informative.

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2015, 10:35:21 AM »
If I had to choose just one card, it would be the Fidelity Amex. It give 2% back in the form of cold, hard cash, which can be directly transferred to a linked Fidelity account each time the balance exceeds $50.

EricP

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2015, 11:56:05 AM »
For me it's the SallieMae Barclaycard.  5% on gas, groceries, and books (Most Amazon purchases count for this.)  Those dominate my spending so it's a clear winner.


If you have lower gas spending then the "One Card to Rule them" would probably be the Citi Double Cash card.  2% on everything.

TheLazyMan

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2015, 12:08:55 PM »
I've got the BarclayCard Arrival Plus.  It works out to 2.2% back on everything but the rewards can only be used for travel expenses.

Prior to that I was using the Fidelity Amex.

Phenix

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #5 on: August 05, 2015, 12:23:14 PM »
If I had to choose just one card, it would be the Fidelity Amex. It give 2% back in the form of cold, hard cash, which can be directly transferred to a linked Fidelity account each time the balance exceeds $50.

I put 90% of my purchases on my Fidelity Amex.  Autopay straight from my checking account on the first of every month and it's easy to transfer the rewards straight to my Fidelity Accounts.
The only downside is when you go someplace that doesn't accept Amex (which I find happens less and less as time goes by).

vhalros

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2015, 12:56:39 PM »
I mostly use the Citi Double Cash card; you get 1% cash back on purchases, and 1% cash back on payment, so if you pay the full balance each month it is equivalent to 2%. There is a minimum of $ 25 in credits to redeem it.

Most of my groceries I get at Costco which does not count as a "grocery store" for most rewards programs, and doesn't take most credit cards any way (although I have kinda hacked this buy using Google Express for many Costco purchases; they take any credit card). I don't own a car so I buy no gas. Thus many of the reward categories that might do better than 2% are not terribly helpful.
« Last Edit: August 05, 2015, 01:00:43 PM by vhalros »

Dexterous

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2015, 04:24:32 PM »
Hello there,

As a recent convert I still have a lot to learn. I've only ever had one credit card, a USAA Mastercard with 7.75% APR and USAA's Cash Rewards program.  Thing is, I've barely use the card, instead opting to use my debit card for most purchases. I realize now that this might not be the best approach.

Assuming, of course, that I absolutely will not be carrying a balance on the card--only using it for purchases and paying it off every month--what would be the best single card to have? I'm not interested in churning, or having multiple cards, at all.

Welcome to the forum.  If you have access to a base, then the new USAA American Express Preferred Rewards card is awesome due to it's 5% back on base purchases.  You can combine that benefit with some other neat tricks, such as using the Amex on base to buy an AAFES gift card... then using the AAFES gift card to buy food which gets you an additional 10% off.  You can also buy nearly every kind of gift card imaginable from bases, so you'll have 5% back for those stores/restaurants too. 

*Edit*  One must also understand that you're combining those benefits without having to pay sales taxes.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2015, 01:36:13 AM by Dexterous »

Seppia

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2015, 04:41:26 PM »
As a standard I also use the citi double cash, has zero annual fee so it's great.
Recently though I opened a citi thank you premier, which is pretty amazing for someone like me who has to travel a lot for work.
3% on all travel including gas
2% on restaurants
1% on everything else
Plus a really amazing 50.000 bonus points if you spend $3000 in the first three months (my average work related travel expenses amount to $1000-1500 so it's piece of cake for me).
50.000 points = $625 in travel expenses if you book through their site.
It also has a number of great perks such as zero foreign transaction fees (useful if you go to Canada and Europe a lot like me), and it insures you for all rental cars.
$95 annual fee, waived for the first year.
I will keep track of everything to see if it will be worth paying the fee, but for the first year it's a no brainier.
http://creditcards.citicards.com/usc/thankyou/Premier/2015/April/PS/default.htm?BT_SC=J.PB.BiQ.vy.Gxg.a6F.iUM.A.F4E&BT_TRF=164673&m=4SGO111111W&cmp=KNC~01~110901~CRDACQXX~Google&BT_MKWD/sFH59pdUd%7Cdm_pcrid_77760546485_pmt_e_pkw_citi%20thankyou%20premier_slid_=&ProspectID=DC0115A6FA5A4678956194B317689DF7

daverobev

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2015, 07:10:57 PM »
Depends where you shop, how much you spend, and if you travel.

Many cards have a zero foreign exchange surcharge; if you go abroad, that's massive.

Lots of places recommend having at least 3 'trade lines' or open credit products. Ideally on different networks.

Discover have a double up deal going on at the moment, so up to 10% cash back on $1500 a quarter.

Sallie Mae Barclaycard has 5% on some good stuff.

Amex BlueCash Preferred is 6% at grocery stores.

CapOne Quicksilver is 1.5% everywhere, and no foreign exchange fee.

Lots and lots of good cards...

kendallf

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2015, 09:44:32 PM »
Per your original question about the one best card, you've gotten some good answers.  However, I suggest you consider using cards with high sign-up bonuses.  These cards give you 40k or 50k points, or miles, or (more rarely) cash after you spend an initial amount on the card.  If you spend enough normally to meet the minimum spend and travel at all these can be worth thousands per year.

The Nerdwallet site mentioned above gives a decent run-down on these; my current favorites are the Barclay Arrival +, Capital One Venture, and Chase Sapphire Preferred.  These all give bonuses worth 4-500+ in travel spending that can be used for flights, hotels, or whatever.

If you fly a lot, and especially if you fly internationally, the airline co-branded cards can be worth huge amounts.  Last year I flew with my wife to Portland, then on to Calgary for a vacation in the Canadian Rockies and back.  Total flight costs were something like $100 in fees.

hyla

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2015, 02:03:42 PM »
Per your original question about the one best card, you've gotten some good answers.  However, I suggest you consider using cards with high sign-up bonuses.  These cards give you 40k or 50k points, or miles, or (more rarely) cash after you spend an initial amount on the card.  If you spend enough normally to meet the minimum spend and travel at all these can be worth thousands per year.

The Nerdwallet site mentioned above gives a decent run-down on these; my current favorites are the Barclay Arrival +, Capital One Venture, and Chase Sapphire Preferred.  These all give bonuses worth 4-500+ in travel spending that can be used for flights, hotels, or whatever.

If you fly a lot, and especially if you fly internationally, the airline co-branded cards can be worth huge amounts.  Last year I flew with my wife to Portland, then on to Calgary for a vacation in the Canadian Rockies and back.  Total flight costs were something like $100 in fees.

The OP mentioned they are not interested in churning, and want to have only one card (presumably to keep for a long time).  Therefore, the above cards which have annual fees of $60 - $100 are probably not a good fit for their situation.  The various cards mentioned by previous posters are no annual fee and are better choices in this case. 

Rosy

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #12 on: August 29, 2015, 09:40:40 AM »
@dexterous - thanks for the great tip regarding the USAA card and using it on base. Sweet!

Since this is the MMM forum, I will say - why leave money on the table?
OP: dave above gave you some great choices and I hear you about not wanting to churn cards and all that, but here is what I did:

I had a look around and decided on opening a Chase Freedom credit card, because at the time it gave me a $200 bonus for spending $500 in 90 days. I am not a big spender - so this was perfect:) It was a five minute application on line and I had my bonus by the second statement.

Since I do not spend a lot - I simply used my flex payments (from my monthly payments for online home shopping - those flex payments are -0% interest, but by paying them with my rewards card - I get rewards points.
So no funny stuff or manufactured spending - just a clever way to use my card - like what dexterous pointed out doing with the USAA card on base.
It is those little things that save us money.

The Chase Freedom is a rewards card and you can choose the cold hard cash for the points (have them mail you a check or transfer it into your bank account) or go for giftcards and other offers.
They also have a rotating 5% category - 3 mo at a time and 2% and 1% rewards points for anything else.

I agree with the poster who said not having to pay for a foreign exchange fee is a good thing - so that will be my next and last card. A card that charges zero when you use it overseas.

LaughingKnave

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #13 on: September 07, 2015, 03:11:04 PM »
Thanks very much to everyone that replied.  I sincerely appreciate the suggestions, and I've spent a bit of time on Nerd Wallet  (which looks like it'll be a nice resource for a bunch of stuff).  I'm leaning towards the Citi Double Cash, but I'm going to do some more research before I make the jump.

Thanks again.

Jags4186

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #14 on: September 08, 2015, 10:55:10 AM »
So really depends on what you want the card for and also for you to evaluate your spending.

Amex Everyday Preferred, provided you make 30 purchases a month, offers 1.5 membership rewards points base, 3 membership rewards on gas, and 4.5 at grocery stores (up to $6k/yr).  If you're interested in airline rewards those points are generally worth about $0.02/pt.

If you like cash back, Amex Blue Cash preferred has 6% cash back on groceries, up to 6k/yr in purchases, 3% at gas stations and 1% on everything else.  You can leverage the grocery store to buy gift cards, you should be able to get 6% cash back on most of your spend.

For straight cash back is recommend Citi Doiblecash paired with Amex Blue Cash preferred. I know you said 1 card but it's really a nice earning potential for very little extra work.


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Cwadda

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #15 on: September 08, 2015, 11:00:13 AM »
Quote
I mostly use the Citi Double Cash card; you get 1% cash back on purchases, and 1% cash back on payment, so if you pay the full balance each month it is equivalent to 2%. There is a minimum of $ 25 in credits to redeem it.

I got this card offer in the mail the other day, but I'm working on a few other cards before I do this one. I like this idea because encourages responsible use of credit cards - to pay off the balance and not go into debt with massive interest rates.

FLA

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #16 on: September 08, 2015, 11:13:27 AM »
I don't want travel points, I've had Discover for 25 yrs at least. It works well for me, you can take your Cash Back money earned and use it to pay towards the next bill.  But I use it to buy gift cards because you get more for your money, i.e.: a $25 gift card, only costs you $20.  I use it often for Lands End, I get a gift card, I navigate to LE by going through the Discover website, that alone gets me an extra 5-10% cash back on my LE purchase.  And then I buy clothes on clearance and I wait for a 30% off clearance sale. So 25% more to spend using the gift card, 5-10% earned in more cash back and clothes are dirt cheap.  Wherever I shop, I just check to see if it's a store that will give me 5-10% back in cash back just for navigating to it through Discover, you can still use all the store benefits, i.e.: free ship if you spend $25, coupon codes and the stores own codes, etc.

Discover also chooses categories throughout the year that will earn 5% cash back, like groceries and dept stores, etc.  I think this card has served me well. 

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #17 on: September 08, 2015, 12:52:13 PM »
Thanks very much to everyone that replied.  I sincerely appreciate the suggestions, and I've spent a bit of time on Nerd Wallet  (which looks like it'll be a nice resource for a bunch of stuff).  I'm leaning towards the Citi Double Cash, but I'm going to do some more research before I make the jump.

Thanks again.

Earlier in this thread, I advocated for the Fidelity Amex, but I actually think that Citi Double Cash is probably the better choice at this point. I've heard rumblings that Fidelity is considering parting ways with Amex. It may be much ado about nothing, but I'd be wary of applying for that card right now, for fear that the rug might be yanked out from under you in the near future.

tetlee

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #18 on: October 15, 2015, 05:57:44 PM »
Some mentions of Amazon but none of the Amazon Synchrony Card which gets you 5% on all (?) purchases there.

Otherwise I use Amex Everyday Blue Cash (1%) at Costco and the Citi Double (2%) for everything else.

Radagast

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #19 on: October 15, 2015, 10:49:10 PM »
How do these bank issued cards like Citi Double Cash work out? Are they universally accepted? I see little symbols all over for things like Visa and American Express, but never Citi. Maybe I just don't pay attention.

I've been looking for one of these too, to improve my long-running Amazon card. Right now I am thinking of a PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature card (mortgage issuer) and the Fidelity Amex (will open investment account there), just to avoid opening random extra accounts everywhere.

tetlee

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #20 on: October 15, 2015, 11:35:12 PM »
How do these bank issued cards like Citi Double Cash work out? Are they universally accepted? I see little symbols all over for things like Visa and American Express, but never Citi. Maybe I just don't pay attention.

The Citi Bank card is operated by Mastercard.
You're right in that there arent many operators, pretty much just Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Discover.
« Last Edit: October 19, 2015, 03:28:01 PM by tetlee »

Radagast

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #21 on: October 16, 2015, 12:23:42 AM »
That makes sense. I got confused because they usually have the logo on the front, but that one did not.

newelljack

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #22 on: October 16, 2015, 09:54:47 PM »
I recently got a Chase Sapphire Preferred (in June) and already have 60k miles racked up. There was a 40k bonus for spending three grand in the first three months (the kids' daycare easily covered that) and another 5k miles for adding my wife on the card. This card is great for travel because you can exchange points 1:1 with lots of airlines and hotel chains. I am also considering a United card that comes with a 30k bonus for just a few grand in the first few months.

Jags4186

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Re: One Card to Rule Them All?
« Reply #23 on: October 18, 2015, 10:04:15 AM »
I recently got a Chase Sapphire Preferred (in June) and already have 60k miles racked up. There was a 40k bonus for spending three grand in the first three months (the kids' daycare easily covered that) and another 5k miles for adding my wife on the card. This card is great for travel because you can exchange points 1:1 with lots of airlines and hotel chains. I am also considering a United card that comes with a 30k bonus for just a few grand in the first few months.

Chase Sapphire Preferred is IMO completely overrated.  It has 2 primary benefits as I see it:

1) transfer to United
2) transfer to Hyatt

It has no bonus categories besides dining and travel (2x), it costs $95/yr, has no retention offers, and you can't churn Chase cards.  Once you blow through your initial points allotment it really isn't worth keeping.  Sure you could potentially get 30,000 points/yr from maximizing your Freedom quarterly bonus and you can earn extra points from the ultimate rewards mall (which has quickly become "blah" over the last year or so), but in general you can do much better elsewhere.

I guess if you have a ton of business expenses you can run through it it might be worth keeping, but I have quickly fallen out of love with Ultimate Rewards.